How popular is the baby name Alan in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Alan.

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Popularity of the baby name Alan


Posts that mention the name Alan

Where did the baby name Aldrin come from in 1969?

Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin on the moon (Jul. 1969)
Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin on the moon

In May of 1961, just three weeks after Alan Shepard became the first American in space, President John F. Kennedy challenged America to make it all the way to the moon:

I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth.

In July of 1969, the crew of the Apollo 11 — astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin — did just that. They launched on the morning of July 16, reached the moon on July 20, and returned to Earth on July 24.

And, thanks to live TV coverage via satellite, approximately 650 million people worldwide were able to witness Neil Armstrong taking his first steps on the moon’s surface. (Millions also tuned in to see the astronauts splash down in the middle of the Pacific Ocean several days later.)

So how did this historic event influence U.S. baby names?

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Neil saw a spike in usage in 1969:

  • 1971: 1,422 baby boys named Neil [rank: 182nd]
  • 1970: 1,567 baby boys named Neil [rank: 178th]
  • 1969: 1,681 baby boys named Neil [rank: 164th]
  • 1968: 1,052 baby boys named Neil [rank: 218th]
  • 1967: 1,158 baby boys named Neil [rank: 200th]

The same year, the name Aldrin popped up for the very first time:

  • 1971: unlisted
  • 1970: 5 baby boys named Aldrin
  • 1969: 22 baby boys named Aldrin [debut]
  • 1968: unlisted
  • 1967: unlisted

Finally, the name Apollo returned to the data in 1969 after a several-year absence:

  • 1971: 14 baby boys named Apollo
  • 1970: unlisted
  • 1969: 15 baby boys named Apollo
  • 1968: unlisted
  • 1967: unlisted

Apollo’s debut in 1965, and high usage again in 1971, are also likely linked to the space program in some way.

Speaking of the space program…how did it come to be named “Apollo”?

Dr. Abe Silverstein, a manager at NASA, chose the name in early 1960 after looking through a mythology book and deciding that the image of “Apollo riding his chariot across the Sun was appropriate to the grand scale of the proposed program.”

Sources: July 20, 1969: One Giant Leap For Mankind – NASA, A President Issues NASA’s First Historic Challenge – NASA, From the Moon to your living room: the Apollo 11 broadcast, The Apollo 11 splashdown, 50 years later, What’s in a Name? – NASA, SSA

Image: Adapted from Aldrin near Module leg (NASA)

Babies named for Mercury astronauts

Astronaut Alan Shepard (1923-1998)
Alan Shepard

NASA’s Mercury program (1959-1963) was the nation’s first human spaceflight program.

Six of the Mercury flights were manned — each by a single astronaut. The six astronauts, in order, were Alan Shepard, Virgil “Gus” Grissom, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra, and Gordon Cooper.

So far I’ve been able to track down namesakes for two of these men:

Alan Shepard

The first American (and second human) in space was Alan Shepard. He piloted a sub-16-minute suborbital flight aboard the Freedom 7 on May 5, 1961. (Yuri Gagarin‘s flight on April 12 had been an orbital flight lasting 108 minutes.)

At 11:42 am, “an hour and eight minutes after Shephard’s [sic] rocket took off,” a baby boy was born to Mr. and Mrs. William J. Mann of Middletown, New York. The boy was named Alan Shepard Mann.

“I had thought of the name myself,” said Mr. Mann. “Then so many friends called and suggested it that we decided to name the baby Alan Shepard. My wife had already picked out a name, Ralph Luppon, but she agreed too that under the circumstances it was the only thing to do.”

Astronaut John Glenn (1921-2016)
John Glenn

John Glenn

The first American to orbit the Earth and the third American (and fifth human) in space was John Glenn. He traveled around the Earth three times aboard the Friendship 7 during a nearly 5-hour flight on February 20, 1962.

Here are just a few of the babies born on Feb. 20 and named in honor of John Glenn:

  • John Glenn Donato, baby boy, born to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Donato of Burbank, California.
  • John Glenn Guntle, baby boy, born at 2:42 p.m., “just one minute before astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. landed Tuesday in the Atlantic Ocean after his third orbit of the earth,” to Mr. and Mrs. Larry Guntle of Dowagiac, Michigan.
  • John Glenn Fortner, baby boy, born to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Fortner of Spartanburg, South Carolina.
  • Glenn John Ashley Mertz, baby boy, born “as astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. re-entered the atmosphere” to Mr. and Mrs. Louis Ashley Mertz of Freeport, New York.
  • Jonna Glyn Morse, baby girl, born at 10:50 a.m., “while Col. Glenn was still in orbit,” to Mr. and Mrs. Sidney L. Morse of Los Angeles, California.
  • Late addition: Glenn Orbit Reeves, baby boy, born in Texas.

We can see the influence of John Glenn’s flight in the U.S. baby name data, in fact.

For more names like these, check out yesterday’s post on baby names inspired by astronauts in the Apollo program.

Sources:

  • About Project Mercury – NASA
  • “Astronaut’s Name Given New Babies.” Los Angeles Times 25 Feb. 1962: GB2.
  • “It Took Week for Famous Name to Stick.” Spartanburg Herald 28 Feb. 1962: 1.
  • “Middletown Infant May Be First Namesake of Spaceman.” Evening News [Newburgh, NY] 6 May 1961: 1.
  • “Name Fame.” Spokane Daily Chronicle 23 Feb. 1962: 1.
  • “Tots Named for Glenn.” Meriden Record 21 Feb. 1962: 8.

Images: Adapted from Astronaut Alan Shepard (NASA) and Mercury 6, John H Glenn Jr (NASA)

Babies named for Apollo astronauts

Apollo insignia

Eleven of NASA’s Apollo space flights were manned flights. According to what I’ve been able to find in old newspapers, at least three of these flights — 8, 11, and 12 — inspired baby names.

Apollo 8

The Apollo 8 flight took place from December 21 to December 27, 1968, and involved three astronauts: Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, Jr., and William A. Anders.

At least one baby was named for the Apollo 8 crew…

William James Frank Noel Hopmans, a baby boy born in Holland.

The baby’s parents decided to name him after America’s three Apollo 8 astronauts and Noel for Christmas. He was born on Christmas Eve.

Apollo 11

The Apollo 11 flight took place from July 16 to July 24, 1969, and involved three astronauts: Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr. This was the famous flight that brought mankind to the moon for the first time in history.

Babies named for the Apollo 11 crew include…

Apollo Selim, a baby boy born in Lebanon.

Beirut, Lebanon – A couple in Fadhous village north of here named their new baby Apollo Selim. He’s their 11th child, born on the day of the Apollo 11 moonshot.

Neil Armstrong Dial, a baby boy born in Washington state at 1:17 p.m., the minute the Apollo 11 astronauts landed on the moon.

Within minutes of Neil Dial’s birth, virtually everyone in the moonstruck maternity ward that Sunday afternoon was eagerly suggesting that Dallas and Patricia Dial name their son “Lunar” or “Apollo.”

“But the PR types, they came in and said we ought to name our son ‘Neil Armstrong,’ Dallas Dial happily recalled last week during an interview at his Edmonds home. “They were even filling out the birth certificate as ‘Neil Armstrong Dial.’ So we went along with it.”

Michael Edwin Neil Harkness, a baby boy born in Columbia, S.C., on July 21.

He is named for all three members of the Apollo 11 moon team.

Mrs. Delmar Moon and baby Neil Armstrong Moon
Neil Armstrong Moon

Neil Armstrong Moon, a baby boy born near Toledo, Ohio, on July 21.

Mrs. Delmar Moon gave birth to a boy only hours before lunar astronauts blasted off the moon headed for earth.

Luna, a baby girl born in Singapore a “half hour after lunar landing.”

Apollo, a baby boy born in Pakistan.

Armstrong Abdurahman Osman, a baby boy born in Somalia.

Parents of baby boy born on lunar landing day broke with Muslim tradition and named child Armstrong Abdurahman Osman.

We can even see the influence of the Apollo 11 mission in the U.S. baby name data.

Apollo 12

The Apollo 12 flight took place from November 14 to November 24, 1969, and involved three astronauts: Charles Conrad, Jr., Richard F. Gordon, Jr., and Alan L. Bean.

At least one baby was named for the Apollo 12 crew…

Charles Richard Alan Wilson, a baby boy born in Baltimore just as the Apollo 12 astronauts were lifting off.

The news was radioed up to the spaceship just after Charles Conrad Jr., Richard F. Gordon Jr. and Alan L. Bean woke up late Monday afternoon. “There’s a new baby boy, born to a Baltimore mother at the precise time of your liftoff,” spacecraft communicator Paul Weitz said. “His name is Charles Richard Alan. Wilson is the last name.”

Do you know of any other people named for Apollo astronauts (or any other astronaut, for that matter)? I’d love to hear about them. Please leave a comment.

Sources:

  • The Apollo Missions – NASA
  • “Baby Named After Apollo Spacemen.” Los Angeles Times 18 Nov. 1969: 21.
  • “Baby Named Apollo.” Palm Beach Post 20 Jul. 1969: B2.
  • “Baby Named for Spacemen.” Reading Eagle 31 Dec. 1968: 10.
  • Conklin, Ellis E. “‘Moon Baby’ made feet-first landing.” Deseret News 21 Jul. 1994: 21.
  • “Palmetto baby gets moon men’s names.” Washington Afro-American 29 Jul. 1969: 5.
  • “Weekly Almanac.” Jet 14 Aug. 1969: 30-31.
  • Astronauts and Aeronautics, 1969 – NASA (PDF)

Baby names for space lovers (Namestorm #11)

Captivated by the cosmos? You might enjoy this list of space-inspired baby names:

Robert (and Nell)
American physicist Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket (nicknamed Nell) in Auburn, Massachusetts on March 16, 1926.

Yuri
Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to enter space and return safely on April 12, 1961.

Alan
Astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space on May 5, 1961.

Valentina
Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space on June 16, 1963.

Alexey (and Eva)
Cosmonaut Alexey Leonov carried out the first EVA (extra-vehicular activity–in this case, a spacewalk) on March 18, 1965.

Edwin and Neil
Astronauts Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Neil Armstrong become the first men to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969.

Vladimir
Czechoslovak cosmonaut Vladimír Remek became the first Non-American, non-Soviet in space on March 2, 1978.

Sally
Astronaut Sally Ride became the first American woman in space on June 18, 1983.

Svetlana
Cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to perform a spacewalk on July 25, 1984.

Anna
Astronaut Anna Fisher became the first mother in space* on November 8, 1984.

Helen
British cosmonaut Helen Sharman became the first non-American, non-Soviet female in space on May 18, 1991.

Peggy
American biochemist Peggy Whitson became the first resident scientist of the International Space Station in 2002.

And now, a couple of questions:

  • Can you come up with any other space-related baby names?
  • What interests/activities should we namestorm about next?

*By “the first mother in space,” I mean the first woman with children to go into space, not the first woman to give birth in space.

Sources: Key Milestones in Space Exploration, Space Exploration Timeline, Wikipedia, Women in Space